Chrysalis

CHRYSALIS (2007) - Sept. 10, 2007 (S)
It was mentioned in the introduction for this film that Julien Leclercq, the film's director, is friends with Xavier Gens, the director of the terrible Frontiere(s). They must have a lot to talk about. Namely, how they both stink at directing. Though this film wasn't quite as bad as that one, it was still quite mediocre. The film's convoluted plot had something to do with a cliched gritty cop (he even gives in his gun and badge at one point, and he has an odd habit of submerging himself in the bathtub and timing it to see how long he can hold his breath. I wonder if that skill will come in handy later on...) who's investigating a mysterious murder case while trying to deal with the death of his partner. I don't know. It's pretty muddled. Leclercq's idea of making the film look futuristic mostly involves giving everything a silvery-metallic sheen, and the whole film otherwise basically looks like a poor-man's Minority Report. The movie does feature a couple of pretty decent fight scenes, and it's never all-out boring, but aside from that it's not too great. **